Dragged you down below

[higherthaneverybody]

WHO: Rhys and Kurloz
TONE: Surreal, disturbing
RATING: Up to R, possibly, for violent imagery
WHEN: March 1st
WHERE: Rhys's office, Kurloz's head
WHAT: Rhys wants to introduce his protege/son to a particularly disturbing form of magic
STATUS: Ongoing


Rhys sat opposite his son in his office, as they had done weekly since he'd first approached the boy. It was time for the next step. The thing that could bind the boy to him, no matter where his mother took him, no matter what happened later. The thing that could open Kurloz's mind to a whole realm of possibilities previously unavailable to him.

"I think you're ready, m'bach," Rhys told the boy. "It's time for your first test."

(OOC: This was posted in the wrong comm, responses there are c&p'ed to here so it could be moved to the right one.)

Kurloz perked at that, looking eager and leaning forward slightly in his chair. The quill on the table between them began scribbling:

what is it being, sir?

"We've talked of your dreams, and taking control, and you've had some success there. I want to see for myself what you can do, and how you respond to certain ... scenarios," Rhys explained, steepling his fingers. "I'd like to come into your dreams tonight, if you'll allow me."

Kurloz's eyes widened and for a moment he looked mildly conflicted.

it's not a nice place in there.

"Lad, I've lived through two wizarding wars. I believe I can manage in a teenager's head, no matter how dark, and if you wish me to continue teaching you, I have to know certain things," Rhys said, gently.

The student fidgeted some more, needing a moment to consider it. This wasn't just his sketchbook with a few dark drawings, this was t heart of it all, the centre of his mind that he often shied away from with horror.

But, as Rhys said, if the man had survived two wizarding wars...

Mutely, Kurloz nodded, dusky skin a bit pale but eyes determined.

Comments

[higherthaneverybody]

The older man smiled, and then held his hand out across the desk, waiting for Kurloz's own.

[innocent_insanity]

Kurloz's hand moved without consulting his brain, reaching over to place ink-stained fingers in Rhys' considerably larger palm.

[higherthaneverybody]

Pulling his wand out, Rhys placed the tip against Kurloz's wrist. He murmured a spell and the tip suddenly glowed a strange dark purple color, a little like a black light. The professor grasped Kurloz's hand firmly, though not so hard he couldn't pull away if he wanted, and then traced a glyph against the boy's skin. Where the wand pressed it burned cold, like being touched with ice for too long. The sensation faded quickly, however, and then Rhys released his son.

"Now I will be able to find you."

[innocent_insanity]

Kurloz jerked at the icy fire that tingled over his skin, fingers twitching a bit but otherwise not pulling away from Rhys' hand. A small smile flickered over his lips as he watched the wand make the glyph over his flesh.

tickles.

[higherthaneverybody]

"A little," Rhys agreed with a smile. "I warn you, I may not look as you expect in your dream. Appearance is malleable, and I have enough experience in this to be able to control it, but ultimately it will be your dream. Remember that."

[innocent_insanity]

that's lucid dreaming though right? don't it take some training or something to get into that state?

[higherthaneverybody]

"What do you think we've been doing all these months, lad?" Rhys asked with amusement.

[innocent_insanity]

Kurloz blinked and took a moment to think back on the dream recordings and slowly began to smile, a touch of wonder in his eyes as he ducked his head with embarrassment at not getting it sooner.

oh. gotcha. :o)

[higherthaneverybody]

"You'll get better at it," Rhys said, then added, more seriously, "But I need to know if you're strong enough to continue. This won't be an easy path, as I've said. This exercise tonight will give me some idea of that."

[innocent_insanity]

Nodding, Kurloz rubbed the back of his neck, staring down thoughtfully at his wrist where the glyph had been, smile slowly disappearing and expression growing more serious.

guess i'll be seeing you tonight then, sir.

[higherthaneverybody]

"You will. You can head to your next class, now, and we'll speak again tomorrow."

[innocent_insanity]

Kurloz gathered up his writing materials and stood with a cheerful grin, saluting Rhys before leaving the room.

Later that night Kurloz went through his bed prep routine as usual, sketchbook and pencil ready at the side by his lamp before he actually crawled under the covers. He'd all but forgotten that he'd be having a visitor to his dreams, exhausted as he was after a busy day of classes. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow and was soon in the hazy sleep state as a precursor to his dreams.

When Rhys joined him, the professor would find himself facing Maeve's cottage on a mild day.

[higherthaneverybody]

The person who joined Kurloz both did and didn't look like the professor. He wore heavy, dark robes, and his hair was a wild mane around his face. Great, spiralling goat's horns rose from his head, and sinister mask of bone seemed to flicker under his skin, there one moment, gone the next. But the face was the same, the bearing the same, the way he strode toward the boy familiar. He held in one hand a great ebon staff, topped with a skull. The eye sockets flickered in the same way as his face, but they cycled randomly through all the colors of the rainbow before going dark, as the skull was pointed toward Kurloz.

"M'bach. I have found you."

[innocent_insanity]

Kurloz peeked out of the window of the cottage, but his face was younger than his current self. Perhaps 10, or 9. Grinning impishly, the boy vanished from the window into the depths of the house, the front door opening on its own in clear invitation of 'catch me if you can'.

[higherthaneverybody]

Rhys stood facing the cottage for a few moments, taking a few long, deep breaths. The man who walked in the door after the boy looked nearly twenty years younger, the horns and mask having disappeared, the robes replaced with a simple tunic top and flowing pants. He strode through the house, calling his son's name.

"Kurloz?"

[innocent_insanity]

There was a giggle from up the stairs of the house and the sound of feet running off into the darkened second floor. The younger Kurloz ran into his bedroom and slammed the door shut behind him.

[higherthaneverybody]

Rhys snapped his fingers and then door swung open again so that he could follow the child, curious as to what he would find. He knew about the boy's time with the fairies, and had no doubt this dream was highly influenced by just that.

[innocent_insanity]

The somewhat cluttered bedroom was empty when Rhys entered, the round window by the bed letting in enough light to make that apparent. The giggling came again and this time it came from outside the window, which the child had climbed out and scaled the wall to get to the back of the cottage. He stood on the path, grinning up at the window long enough for Rhys to see him before turning and running off down a worn path into the slowly thickening forest.

[higherthaneverybody]

Rhys simply apparated after him, though he didn't transport himself to directly near the child - that wasn't what this dream was about, and it was important to follow the conventions of a dream, at least at first, to discover the purpose and meaning. He walked down the path after the boy at an even pace, summoning a small globe of light to follow him and illuminate the way under the tree canopy that increasingly blocked out the sunlight.

[innocent_insanity]

Kurloz flickered in and out of view several times as he ran down the path. At some points there even appeared to be two of him running along. As the forest grew darker and darker there came to be bobbing globes of light appearing here and there, the chittering of faerie voices echoing around them. There was also a quiet but distinctly vicious laugh thrumming under the seemingly cheerful sounds around them.

[higherthaneverybody]

Ah, now there was the real thread of the dream. Rhys paused, just listening for a moment, focusing on that darker sound, the cruel laugh, and smiled to himself, before he continued down the path after the flickering boy.

[innocent_insanity]

Some of the floating lights manifested into faeries with pale green skin and red roses instead of hair. They chittered at Rhys as he kept walking, flitting around his head as if to speak to him, their jet black eyes analyzing him coldly despite the seemingly friendly smiles on their faces. A couple even sat on Rhys' shoulders, weaving their spindly fingers through his long hair. There came a bend in the path and by the time Rhys had rounded it, Kurloz had vanished. The laughter remained, reverberating through the air. On the ground there was a vibrant indigo string that trailed off into the dark forest, leading Rhys further into Kurloz's dream.

[higherthaneverybody]

Rhys was wary of the flitting fairies - he knew better than to trust them, even if they were only dream manifestations. "I'll have no favors from you," he told them in lilting Welsh, as he began to follow the string, noting the color with a faint smile.

[innocent_insanity]

The faeries shook their heads at Rhys and attempted to push him back, pressing their small hands to his chest and face. The path was blocked by a thick rose bush, the full red blossoms far too vibrant for the dark forest and dripping blood from their petals to pool on the ground. The air was thick with the smell of blood and roses, cloying in the intensity. The purple thread ran straight through the bush and if Rhys attempted to leave the path to go around the bush, he wouldn't see the thread anywhere.

[higherthaneverybody]

Rhys drew his wand instead, using a simple spell meant to push aside the branches and leaves, doubtless with hidden thorns. The rose bush was an interesting landmark , very dramatic, and the smell was a nice touch - so often the smells were absent in dreams.